BotCon 2015 reveals Battletrap on the Springer mold with a new head, and the crew calls him the standout of the set. Pete Sinclair’s visit to TFYLP brings a Chop Shop recolor that may be Vice Grip. Hasbro shows an Autobot Intel Ops box set, Legends Ultra Magnus and Skywarp turn up at Fred’s, and Rescue Bots gets a fourth season. DX9 previews a Combiner Wars Megatron upgrade, and Perfect Effect shows its not-Lio Convoy, Leonidas.
News
Takara Reissues Legends LG-10 Arcee
Legends Arcee returns in August, just after BotCon. Don wants one to give Susan Blu, and the crew teases him about how that will look. [Source: not found]
Rescue Bots Confirmed for a Fourth Season
Season four would push Rescue Bots past G1’s episode count, making it the longest-running Transformers series. Michael Bay is also set to voice a character in an upcoming episode. Several hosts admit they have seen only a handful of episodes. [Source: not found]
First Look at the Autobot Intel Ops Box Set
The set includes Perceptor, Blaster, Ramhorn, Steeljaw and Eject, but no Rewind. The crew sees it as a second chance for anyone who missed SDCC Blaster or the Toys R Us Perceptor. Hasbro’s site also lists the Blitzwing and Astrotrain two-pack at $65.99, less than feared. [Source: not found]
Legends Ultra Magnus and Skywarp Repaints Reach Fred’s
The 2011 Legends Ultra Magnus and Seeker molds return in new decos, showing up at Fred’s. This run appears to drop the weapons that later releases included. [Source: not found]
Early Fire Convoy Concept Art for Car Robots
Concept art surfaces ahead of the Car Robots 15th anniversary. Auto-translated notes suggest the Autobots could have used the Maximal symbol. Don wants a Masterpiece Fire Convoy, while Chris argues the super mode was never central to the show. [Source: not found]
Unite Warriors Menasor Full Team
Takara’s Dragstrip paints its shoulders black to suggest the G1 toy’s double front tires, which the crew finds clever. With Hasbro’s own Wildrider coming, most hosts feel less need for the import, though Matt likes the novelty of a Japanese gift set box. [Source: not found]
Combiner Wars Cyclonus In Hand
In-hand photos show Cyclonus with his Galvatronus head. The crew thinks the head looks more like Overlord than Galvatron, though the figure looks good. [Source: not found]
A Closer Look at the Protectobots
Blades shares nearly all of Alpha Bravo’s mold apart from a big new head. Streetwise is almost all new, sharing only the arms and thighs with Dead End, and carries a triple-barrel shotgun. The crew likes Offroad, calling him an Aerialbot turned into a truck. [Source: not found]
BotCon 2015 News
Battletrap Revealed for BotCon
Battletrap uses the Springer mold with a new head, which the crew says fits the character well. One host who usually skips the box set now plans to buy it. The crew expects his Duocon partner, Flywheels, to follow on the Blitzwing mold. [Source: not found]
Pete Sinclair Shows a Chop Shop Recolor on TFYLP
Don reports that Pete Sinclair revealed a Chop Shop recolor, possibly Vice Grip, on TFYLP. Pete says the Megatron that came with Chop Shop is not in the set, and its partner will be a surprise. Photos of Tarantulas also surfaced. The crew trades guesses about the mob-themed boss. [Source: not found]
John Moschitta Coming to TFCon Toronto
John Moschitta will attend TFCon Toronto and run the charity auction, which the crew calls a perfect fit. [Source: not found]
Third-Party News
DX9 Upgrade Kit for Combiner Wars Megatron
The $40 kit adds height, ankle articulation and G1-style detail. The crew doubts the tank mode survives it, but it suits anyone shelving him with Masterpieces. [Source: not found]
Mastermind Creations Overlord Sketches Resurface
New renders suggest the not-Overlord is moving up Mastermind’s schedule now that Feral Rex is done. John says his complete Feral Rex does combine, but it is heavy and its backpack is a whole robot. [Source: not found]
Perfect Effect PE-DX05 Leonidas
Perfect Effect’s not-Lio Convoy gets its first color pictures. Brian wants it without quite knowing why, while another host already has plenty of Lio Convoys. [Source: not found]
Also on TFormers
Chris posted his Combiner Wars Breakdown review, with the rest of the wave to follow. The site reviewed More Than Meets the Eye #39 and Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #6. Revision cases of Dragstrip with comics are turning up at Walmart. Grant Imahara shared a RoboGames clip of a transforming remote control robot. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
On April 7, 2004, Atari released Melbourne House’s Transformers game for PlayStation 2 in the UK. The crew calls it the best Transformers game until the High Moon titles. Rob counters that Fall of Cybertron is worth playing just to have Metroplex crush Megatron.
RFC News
Travis Perry won the RFC Facebook contest for a Combiner Wars Silverbolt, donated by Diecast and Hasbro. The crew calls Silverbolt the best Combiner Wars Voyager so far.
What We Got This Week
Don
Don picked up a Banzai-Tron and a clear Optimus Prime with copper highlights and colorful accessories. He paid about $45 shipped without a box and loves it as a color inversion of G2 Optimus Prime.
Matt
Matt’s Combiner Wars wave 2 order from Big Bad Toy Store is still in the mail.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.